Is America ready for the first black Republican president? That's a question being asked following the surge in popularity of GOP candidate Herman Cain. A new NBC/Wall Street Journal poll has Cain beating Mitt Romney with 27 percent to Romney's 21 in the Republican primary. Cain refuses to believe he is the latest GOP "flavor of the week" and has not shied away from talking about race during the campaign.

Over the weekend, a front-page article in The Washington Post criticized Texas governor and Republican presidential hopeful Rick Perry, whose family's hunting lodge was formerly known by a racially charged epithet. Other GOP candidates have already been vocal in criticizing Perry. Herman Cain told Fox News on Sunday, "I think it shows a lack of sensitivity."

President Obama's approval ratings are at an all-time low. August's Gallup poll numbers showed that 41 percent of American adults approve of the way Obama is currently handling his job. Some of the largest declines in approval come from African-American voters — a group that formerly voted for Obama.

Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif), is pulling no punches in her campaign against former HP CEO Carly Fiorina in California, and she's raising a now-familiar bogeyman: China. One of her recent ads tied Fiorina to her decision to outsource thousands of American jobs to China.  Boxer is not the only candidate doing this. Many politicians across the country are using China as a political scapegoat in their bid to win.

Our political coverage of the midterms turns to Florida. The Sunshine State has been in the international limelight for weeks, following Pastor Terry Jones’ threats to publicly burn Korans. With the bonfire cancelled and the 9/11 anniversary past, we talk this morning about a state full of voters whose opinions range the gamut on the Koran burning issue and the three-way race for U.S. Senate that’s been heating up for months. 

Across the country, there are only nine political primaries left this season, and the race for November’s midterm elections is coming into full swing. 

When you see a favorite local retailer close down, you often wonder what might have happened if you'd stepped in to help drive business. A group of retailers in Harlem are trying a new way to stay afloat in the face of the bad economy. In the latest episode of "The Value," Farai Chideya reports on an initiative called The Power of One.

For our series, "The Value," Takeaway correspondent Farai Chideya traveled to the Bay Area for a lesson on how to live on the  cheap in one of the country's most costly neighborhoods. A family in Saulsalito, California manages to cut costs by living on their boat. By avoiding expenses like the cost of a car and gas, the family is able to sail around the world and return home with adventurous stories to tell.

In our regular series The Value, Takeaway correspondent Farai Chideya brings us the story of a woman in Miami who found the value of home in an unlikely place.

In our regular series, "The Value: What Matters to Us Most," correspondent Farai Chideya interviews a father of three in Newark, NJ, who is a repeat felon trying to stay straight.

The Takeaway's Farai Chideya interviews Mason Scherzer for "The Value."

The Takeaway's correspondent Farai Chideya joins us with the next installment in her series, The Value, which focuses on how priorities change in an uncertain economy. This time, Farai talks to "ordinary adventurer" Mason Scherzer, who values adventure travel over saving or common comforts like a daily latte. Instead of sticking his money under his mattress, he's going on a trip to Antarctica.

The Takeaway's Farai Chideya speaks to Anna Deavere Smith about "The Value."

Today we present the first installment in a new multimedia series called “The Value,” hosted by our correspondent Farai Chideya. The series explores what we — as individuals and as a society — place value on.

Farai sat down with Anna Deavere Smith, who is an award-winning playwright, actress and professor famous for her “documentary theatre.” Her newest, play, “Let Me Down Easy,” focuses on the issue of our nation’s health care and is now playing at New York's Second Stage Theater.

The Takeaway talks to two movie critics about the anti-blockbuster movies of the summer, particularly foreign films. We talk about the British film "In the Loop," described as a combination of the West Wing and The Office, and "A Woman in Berlin," about a rape victim during the Red Army occupation. The two film critics joining The Takeaway this morning are A. O. Scott, film critic for The New York Times, and Wesley Morris, film critic for the Boston Globe.

Watch the trailer for In the Loop below.



And here's the trailer for A Woman in Berlin.

A 10-year federal probe uncovered an international conspiracy involving money laundering, corruption of local and state governments and synagogues in New Jersey. Three mayors ended the day in handcuffs; five rabbis are accused of funneling $3 million through religious non-profit organizations, and 44 people are heading to court. Is this just business as usual in the Garden State? Joining The Takeaway is Bob Ingle: he's the Trenton bureau chief for Gannet news service and co-author of the book, "The Soprano State: New Jersey's Culture of Corruption."

Last Thursday Henry Louis Gates Jr, one of the nation's pre-eminent African American scholars, was arrested for breaking into his own home in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Charges were dropped but the debate goes on. To find out how this story is playing locally, The Takeaway turns to Joe Sciacca, the Deputy Managing Editor of the Boston Herald. Also joining the discussion is Boston-based TV and radio commentator Callie Crossley.

The Federal “Cash for Clunkers” program officially kicks off today. It allows Americans to trade in cars with bad gas mileage and receive up to $4,500 towards fuel efficient vehicles. Some dealerships already began offering it and The Takeaway talks to Mary Dubois from Oklahoma City who traded in her clunker for a new, more fuel efficient vehicle. And we talk with Dan Neil, auto critic for the Los Angeles Times about the clunkers program and why Hyundai is doing so well right now. Also joining the show is Rick Halstead, a Hyundai factory worker. He's going to be talking to us from the factory in Alabama before starting his shift working on 4-cylinder engines.

Alaska Governor Sarah Palin officially hands over power to Lieutenant Governor Sean Parnell on Sunday. What’s next for her and what is her legacy as Alaska's former governor? (One thing we do know: her autobiography is scheduled to come out next spring from Harper Collins.) Joining The Takeaway is Libby Casey, reporter for the Alaska Public Radio Network, to talk about Palin's legacy in Alaska, and Bernadette Malone, former editor at Sentinal, an imprint of Penguin Publishers, to talk about the autobiography.

This weekend, Cooperstown holds its induction ceremony for the Baseball Hall of Fame—days after White Sox pitcher Mark Buehrle threw a perfect game against the Tampa Bay Rays. The Takeaway talks with Dave Zirin, who writes about sports for The Nation and is author of "A People's History of Sports in the United States."

Watch the final out in Mark Buehrle's perfect game below.

The Dow posted its highest closing since last November, topping the 9000 mark for the first time since January. And the minimum wage goes up today from $6.25 to $7.25. But some say this will create more joblessness, pushing the nation’s unemployment-insurance system into a severe and long-term test. To talk about all of this is Peter Morici, economist and business Professor at the University of Maryland, and Jason DeParle, a reporter for The New York Times.

Montreal, Canada, hosts the annual "Just For Laughs" festival this weekend. A swarm of comedians from around the world descends on the city for hundreds of shows. Joining The Takeaway from Montreal to talk about the festival is Steve Heisler, a contributor to The Onion's A/V club, and Andy Kindler, a writer and comedian and a veteran of the festival.

Watch a clip of Andy Kindler performing below.